Lesson Outline
We know that learning can happen anywhere. In these lessons, we explore and design the perfect place for learning, whether at school or at home. Traditional classrooms were designed for a specific model of education. The front-facing rows of individual students are familiar to us and represent a classroom design that suits some forms of explicit instruction. But classrooms can be redesigned to open or more opportunities for learning. Learning doesn't have to happen in the classroom either: learners can design their ideal learning places outside of schools so that learning can occur anywhere, and at any time.
Introduction: Students read about traditional versus contemporary classroom spaces
Discussion: Students discuss and ask questions about their ideal learning place
Design: Students design a floor plan of their ideal classroom
Learning design principles
Innovative Learning Space for the Next Generation
School Classroom Design Lesson
Design your ideal classroom
School classroom design plays an important role in how you learn. Many classrooms are still designed around teaching styles that date back to the Victorian era. Sometimes, that’s OK.
But there are other ways to build and design the places we learn.
In this lesson you will see some examples of alternative school classrooms and learning environments, and then design your own ideal classroom.
The Traditional Classroom
The traditional classroom layout has its roots in Victorian education. It is designed so that the teacher can deliver the same content to multiple students. This kind of layout works for ‘lecture’ style lessons where the information has to be presented in a consistent fashion.
Unfortunately, this layout is not very suitable for discussions and group work.
The Contemporary Classroom
Many schools have moved away from the traditional classroom layout towards a more contemporary style which might include grouped tables, alternative seating arrangements, digital technologies, writable surfaces, and so on.
The disadvantage of this style is that is can be hard to deliver explicit instruction or more traditional styles of lesson.
Designing your ideal learning space
To design your ideal learning space, answer the following questions:
How do you learn best? What are the ideal conditions e.g. individual work versus group work, open spaces versus closed spaces?
Does your ideal classroom have any breakout spaces or sections?
How big is the space? How many people need to fit into the space?
What extra features and technologies would you include in the space which might not be a feature of traditional classrooms?
Activity: Design your ideal space
Using the answers to the questions above, make a top-down diagram of your ideal learning space. Use shapes, text or images found online to design the classroom. You could design your classroom on a Google Slide, in a Google Doc as a drawing, or in Google Drawings
